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Kingston to make Senate race official

U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston is scheduled to make an announcement late this morning at the Waving Girl statue in Morrell Park along the Savannah River.

The setting should be an apt one, because the betting is heavy throughout Georgia political circles that the Savannah Republican will be waving hello to a run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Saxby Chambliss.

If, as expected, Kingston formally announces for the race that will culminate in the 2014 election, he will become the third Republican to enter the fray, joining two Republican contemporaries from the Georgia delegation, U.S. Reps. Paul Broun and Phil Gingrey.

Kingston, who recently turned 58, has served as the congressman from Georgia’s 1st Congressional District since 1993. He is scheduled to make similar announcements today in other parts of the state.

Kingston was mentioned early on as a potential candidate for Chambliss’ seat but remained non-committal as Bourn and Gingrey entered the race. As recently as two weeks ago, Kingston said he was about a month away from deciding whether to run.

Kingston’s actions, however, pointed to a formal candidacy. He spent the last two months traversing Georgia to test the level of interest in his candidacy and to lock up support.

He also raised money as a man aspiring to greater office, particularly in an off-election year for his House seat.

The most recent Federal Election Commission report showed Kingston raised $842,580 in the first quarter of the year, leaving him with $1,754,012 cash on hand.

Kingston also hired Republican pollster John McLaughlin of McLaughlin & Associates, a firm used in the past by Gov. Nathan Deal. And he hired a consultant for the first time in his political career, bringing on veteran Jeff Roe.

Beyond bringing the Senate race into clearer focus, Kingston’s announcement of a formal candidacy would serve as a figurative starting gun for other local politicians looking to move up the political food chain.

State Sen. Buddy Carter, R-Pooler, the dean of the Chatham County delegation in the Georgia General Assembly, confirmed Wednesday that, if Kingston enters the Senate race, he will seek Kingston’s seat in the U.S. House.

“We really want to be respectful to Jack and allow him this time in the spotlight,” Carter said. “But we’re going to announce Monday.”

Carter already has filed a statement of organization with the Federal Elections Commission, naming Savannah accountant Carlton H. Hodges as the treasurer for Buddy Carter for Congress. He also has hired veteran Savannah political consultant David Simons and already put one poll in the field.

Others are eyeing the Kingston seat, as well.

Savannah resident David Schwarz, a former Kingston staffer and now the managing partner of the lobbying and economic development consulting firm of Pier Strategies, said Wednesday he has formed an exploratory committee to help him decide whether to run.

Jeff Chapman, the current state representative from Brunswick who resigned from the state Senate in 2010 to mount a failed bid for governor, also has been mentioned.

Darwin Carter, an Alma native who failed in bids for state agriculture commissioner in 2010 and the state House of Representatives in 2012, has announced he will run for Kingston’s seat. To date, neither Chapman nor Darwin Carter has filed with the FEC.

Simons said the initial poll by the Budddy Carter organization, unverified by any objective polling, shows the state senator with a double-digit lead over the rest of the field of prospective candidates.

Buddy Carter’s pursuit of Kingston’s congressional seat would open up his state senate seat, and state Rep. Ben Watson confirmed Wednesday he will run for the state’s upper chamber if the Pooler Republican vacates the seat.

“If the dominos do fall, I will run for state senate,’ Watson said. “If Buddy doesn’t decide to run, I’ll be happy to stay in the House where I am, where I’m very comfortable.”

There will be no shortage of candidates for Watson’s seat if he tries to move up, according to Simons, who said he already has signed up to lend his services to Skidaway Island native Jesse Petrea.

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